SEARLE, Cecil Leslie
| Service Number: | 884 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Payneham, SA, Australia, 8 April 1894 |
| Home Town: | Payneham, Norwood Payneham St Peters, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bushman |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Queensland, Australia, 4 July 1958, aged 64 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Coolamon Methodist Circuit Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 884, 12th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Chilka embarkation_ship_number: A51 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 884, 12th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Chilka, Sydney |
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Surname: Searle; Given Names:Cecil Leslie; Date of Birth: 8 April 1894; Date of Enlistment: 20 March 1915; Trade or Calling: Bushman; Birth Location: Payneham, SA, Australia
Service Record
Son of John Searle and Anne Thomas, Cecil Leslie Searle, was a bushman (single) when he enlisted at the age of 20 on the 20th of March 1915. Cecil lived with his family in Junee, New South Wales. No exact address was stated in the service records. He was assigned to 12th Light Horse Regiment and was later transferred to 6th Light Horse. The Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army, fought on horses, during the First World War. His occupation may have related to the unit he was placed in as Bushmen are known to ride horses. Searle's service number was 884 and was ranked as private; the lowest rank for those who have completed basic training. He had no prior recorded military service nor any criminal convictions when he enlisted.
In appearance, had blue eyes, brown hair, and his complexion was tan. As for his height, it was quite average amongst the Australian Soldiers. The average was approximately 5'8" tall or 160cm, Searle was about 5'1" or 154cm.
After basic training, he embarked from Sydney, NSW, on board HMAT A51 Chilka in June 1916. The HMAT A51 Chilka weighed 3,952 tons with an average cruise speed of 14 knots or 25.92 mph (HMAS His Majesty’s Armed Transport). Arriving in Aden on 12th July to reinforce the British garrison. He then was sailed out again without seeing any action.
The first few months Searle was in the 12th Light Horse and began training as an infantry, having ordered to leave its horses in Australia. In late August, they deployed to Gallipoli and as a result, Cecil was transferred to the 6th transferred to Light Horse Regiment in the ‘D’ Squadron.
Cecil was involved with the battle in Gallipoli and had to defend a sector on the far right of ANZAC line. On 3rd of December 1915 in Gallipoli, he was admitted to hospital due to a sickness. Days later, he was transferred to No 3 Auxiliary hospital as the symptoms worsened. It was declared that he had rheumatism; a disorder of the muscles, tendons, joints, bones and nerves. For over a month, Cecil remained in the hospital until on the 1st of January, he was discharged to Oasis Camp Duty in Egypt. His location in Egypt was in MAADI Camp; a camp in which the light horse regiment trained.
After he was reported to the camp in Egypt, he returned back to the 6th Light Horse Regiment on the 22nd of February 1916. On the same day, he was transferred to the 4th Machine Gun Squadron in Egypt. With the squadron, he spent the rest of the year engaged in rear area security tasks in the Suez Canal Zone. In April 1917, he moved up into the Sinai desert and continued to undertake security duties.
On the 6th February 1917, Cecil becomes a driver. He rode on a horse during the patrol work until the British advance into Palestine stalled before the Turkish bastion of Gaza. On the 13th of October, Searle reverts to a trooper at his own request. Searle was involved in the successful battle of Beersheba after reverting to a trooper in October 1917.
The 6th Light Horse Regiment took part in the offensive along the coast east of the Jordan in September 1918. They had captured Amman and soon later on the 6th of October, Searle was critically wounded but the cause was not recorded on the service records. He was had advised to the hospital and was declared dangerously ill at the end of the month. The time he was injured until the time he embarked back to Australia, he was in the hospital recovering from the wounds.
On the 12th of April 1919, Pte Searle embarked for Australia from Egypt on the HMAT ‘Wandilla’. More than a year later, he was officially discharged from the Australian Force on the 23rd of July 1920. Two years later on the 8th of March 1922, Cecil married Ellen Ethel jones, daughter of Sydney Jones and Margaret Nelson, at Waverley, NSW, Australia.
On the 4th of July 1958 at Queensland, Australia, Searle died of a natural cause.
Cecil Leslie Searle was awarded:
Star Medal 1914/15 122387
British War Medal 12863
Victory Medal 12670
Bibliography
6th Australian Light Horse Regiment 2015, Australian War Memorial, accessed 29 March 2016, <https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51040/>.
12th Australian Light Horse Regiment 2015, Australian War Memorial, accessed29 March 2016, <https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51046/>.
4th Australian Light Horse Regiment 2015, Australian War Memorial, accessed 24 March 2016, <https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51038/>.
SEARLE - One Name Study of the SEARLE Surname in Australia 2013, Searle, accessed 24 March 2016, <http://www.searle-ons.com/p71.htm#i4429>.
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